NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE
G'day folks,
Welcome to some background on a man who wrote novels and short stories. He also met some famous folks along the way. Author
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864), wrote novels such as The Scarlet Letter, The House of
Seven Gables, and the short story "Young Goodman Brown", among
others.
Synopsis
Born
in Salem, Massachusetts in 1804, Nathaniel Hawthorne's short stories include
"My Kinsman, Major Molineux" (1832), "Roger Malvin's
Burial" (1832), "Young Goodman Brown" (1835), and the collection
Twice-Told Tales. He is best known for his novels The Scarlet Letter
(1850) and The House of the Seven Gables (1851). His use of allegory and
symbolism make Hawthorne one of the most studied writers.
Ancestral Heritage
Born on
July 4, 1804, in Salem Massachusetts, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s life was steeped in
the Puritan legacy. An early ancestor, William Hathorne, first emigrated from
England to America in 1630 and settled in Salem, Massachusetts, where he became
an judge known for his harsh sentencing. William’s son, John Hathorne, was one
of three judges during the Salem Witch Trials in the 1690s. Nathaniel later
added a “w” to his name to distance himself from this side of the family.
Early Life
Nathaniel
was the only son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Clark Hathorne (Manning). His
father, a sea captain, died in 1808 of yellow fever while at sea. The family
was left with meager financial support and moved in with Elizabeth’s wealthy
brothers. A leg injury at an early age left Nathaniel immobile for a several
months during which time he developed a voracious appetite for reading and set
his sights on becoming a writer.
With the
aid of his wealthy uncles, young Hawthorne attended Bowdoin College from 1821
to 1825. There he met and befriended Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and future
president Franklin Pierce. By his own admission, he was a negligent student
with little appetite or study.
Early Works
While
attending college, Nathaniel Hawthorne missed his mother and two sisters
terribly and upon graduation, returned home for a 12-year stay. During this
time, he began to write with purpose and soon found his “voice” self-publishing
several stories, among them The Hollow of the Three Hills and An Old
Woman’s Tale. By 1832, he had written My Kinsman, Major Molineux and Roger
Malvin’s Burial, two of his greatest tales and in 1837, Twice Told Tales.
Though his writing brought him some notoriety, it didn’t provide a dependable
income and for a time he worked for the Boston Custom House weighing and gaging
salt and coal.
Budding Success and Marriage
Nathaniel
Hawthorne ended his self-imposed seclusion at home about the same time he met
Sophia Peabody, a painter, illustrator, and transcendentalist. During their
courtship, Hawthorne spent some time at the Brook Farm community where he got
to know Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. He didn’t find
transcendentalism to his favor but living in the commune allowed him to save
money for his impending marriage to Sophia. After a long courtship, partially
prolonged by Sophia’s poor health, the couple were married on July 9, 1842. They
quickly settled in Concord, Massachusetts, and rented Old Manse, owned by Ralph
Waldo Emerson. In 1844, their first of three children was born.
With
mounting debt and a growing family, Hawthorne moved to Salem. A life-long
Democrat, political connections helped him land a job as surveyor in the Salem
Custom House in 1846, providing his family some needed financial security.
However, when Whig President Zachary Taylor was elected, Hawthorne lost is
appointment to political favoritism. The dismissal turned into a blessing
giving him time to write his masterpiece, The Scarlet Letter, the story of two
lovers who clashed with Puritan moral law. The book was one of the first
mass-produced publications in the United States and its wide distribution made
Hawthorne famous.
Writing the Novels
Never
feeling comfortable living in Salem, Nathaniel Hawthorne was determined to take
his family out of the town’s Puritan trappings. They moved to Red House in
Lenox, Massachusetts, where he formed a close friendship with Moby Dick author
Herman Melville. During this time, Hawthorne enjoyed his most productive period
as a writer publishing The House of the Seven Gables, Blithedale Romance and
Tanglewood Tales.
Years Abroad
During
the 1852 election, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a campaign biography for his college
friend Franklin Pierce. When Pierce was elected president, he appointed
Hawthorne an American Consul to Britain as a reward. The Hawthorne’s stayed in
England from 1853-1857. This period served as inspiration for Hawthorne’s novel
Our Old Home.
After serving
as consul, Nathaniel Hawthorne took his family on an extended vacation to Italy
and then back to England. In 1860, he finished his last novel The Marble Faun.
That same year Hawthorne moved his family back to the United States and took
permanent residence at The Wayside in Concord, Massachusetts.
Final Years
After
1860, it was becoming apparent that Hawthorne was moving past his prime.
Striving to rekindle his earlier productivity, he found little success. Drafts
were mostly incoherent and left unfinished. Some even showed signs of psychic
regression. His health began to fail and he seemed to age considerably, hair
turning white and experiencing slowness of thought. For months, he refused to
seek medical help and died in his sleep on May 19, 1864, at Plymouth New
Hampshire.
Clancy's comment: Mm ... Another interesting character who didn't live all that long.
I'm ...
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